I'm having some difficulty trying to grasp your point...but are you trying to say that the federal gift tax annual exclusion (per donee) does not apply to 501(c)(3) organizations?
Really?
- oldman
If I understand your comment/question correctly, the US federal gift tax annual exclusion applies to gifts to (usually) family members (usually) as part of an estate planning/financial planning process.
A private foundation has a requirement to donate a minimum percentage of its assets, not, as was reported, what she claimed which was that she was subject to a federal maximum limit. A foundation can choice to liquidate itself and donate all of its assets in one day. It does not happen very often.
(BTW: I did think that the amount two gifts of $13,000 was a bit odd and I thought well maybe she is donating it to her own family members and is applying the annual exclusion rule. Well I looked it up and in 2014 it was $14,000. So it does not fit, and besides I am sure that the families who got her gifts would want to publicly thank her. But still, two gifts of $13,000 is odd).
My point, and what really brothered me about this whole thing is that when we (society) through our government decide to exclude from taxation certain people, organizations and companies, we are saying that that entity is providing a good/service that we value - take your pick; feeding the homeless, setting up a park, providing religious services, creating jobs.... In fact we say we value it so much that you do not have to pay for your share of the cost to fix roads, light the streets, run a police force, maintain an army, pay for the cost of care for wounded veterans.
So when someone says that they are going to give 100% of collected donations to families of fallen warriors, and it appears that that is not what they did, and they provide an answer that at least on first pass does not make any sense, I think we should pay attention. Their 990 will provide a lot more insight.
Please, if you are going to give to charities that serve veterans, please go to an organization like charity watch to find out which organizations do a good job of meeting veteran needs.
http://www.charitywatch.org/articles/donors_guide_to_serving_veterans.htmlI would be interested in knowing if others rely on different sources to vet (pun? Ha ha) charities.